Marian Hannah Winter

Marian Hannah Summer (1910 – 15 December 1981) was an American dance historian. She has been called one of "the [two] foremost names in American dance history."[1]

In the 1940s, dance historian Lincoln Kirstein solicited Winter to write for Dance Index, a magazine he headed. In contrast to Kirstein's analytical or polemical approach to history, Winter was more of an archivist.[1]

One of Summer's most influential works is "Juba and American Minstrelsy", published in 1947. The article sketches the life of Master Juba, a black American dancer active in the mid-19th century. Winter argues that Juba introduced African elements to American dance forms and, in the process, created a new, distinctly American style. The article thus attempts to "[re-appropriate] for black culture what is otherwise generally seen as racist theft."[2]

Winter moved to France in her later years. There, she published The Theater of the Marvels in both English- and French-language editions. She died in Paris.[1]